This study aims to measure the impact of right-to-work laws on states’ economic performance. It uses average annual growth rates in employment, real (inflation-adjusted) personal income and population to measure the economic well-being of right-to-work states. On the whole, the results of this analysis show that right-to-work laws have a statistically significant and economically meaningful positive impact, although the results vary. … more

Today is the 5th anniversary of Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s promise that Michigan residents would be “blown away” by the gobs of jobs her latest economic development program would create. How ironic then that she of all people would flee the state to find work. … more

It’s probably no coincidence that the first bill (HB 4001) introduced in Michigan’s new Legislature is to repeal the 21.99 percent surcharge slapped onto the Michigan Business Tax in 2007. The surcharge is despised by the business community, and is seen as a job killer by policy analysts and politicians alike. … more

Saginaw County officials have quietly buried a previously scheduled vote to repeal its “prevailing wage” ordinance for construction projects costing more than $50,000. Prevailing wage laws prohibit granting a government contract to the lowest bidder unless the company pays above-market, “union-scale” wages. … more

Recent climate conferences in Stockholm and Cancun have revealed what the global climate change issue is really all about — the transfer of wealth from developed nations to developing countries. … more

Ending the handouts would send a signal that this state is done playing games with ephemeral and failed "economic development" programs, and instead will focus on a real economic growth agenda, including across-the-board tax relief, labor law changes and other regulatory reforms. … more

There's no question that Michigan's economy has performed poorly over the past decade. Essentially, the state lost one out of every five jobs since employment peaked in 2000. However, Michigan's economic trends have changed in recent months. It is no longer the worst performer in the country. In fact, since the end of the U.S. recession, Michigan's performance is average. … more

The headline of a story today's Detroit Free Press characterizes Gov. Jennifer Granholm's understanding of the state film production subsidies' role like this: "Goal of film tax credit is jobs, not more revenue." This reminds one of the late economist Milton Friedman's question upon seeing a U.S. taxpayer-funded public works project in a poor country where thousands of men with shovels were moving dirt one spadeful at a time. … more

Existing, home-grown restaurant owners in the area — who pay their taxes in full and get no special privileges from the government — are no doubt relieved that they won't have to compete with a politically favored and subsidized outsider. … more

Mark Adler, a lobbyist for the Michigan Production Alliance, and Carrie Jones, the director of the Michigan Film Office, defended the state's film subsidy program in a Senate Finance Committee meeting today. To do so they employed a long-recognized economic fallacy, the "Broken Window" theory, which only considers economic activity that is "seen" while ignoring unseen economic costs. … more

A rather blistering May 16 Livingston Daily editorial asked a few simple questions of three state lawmakers about the Michigan Film Incentive and how well it's working. Two of the legislators responded in a guest column Sunday, arguably dodging the real questions raised in the original editorial and putting up a weak defense of the two-year-old subsidy program. … more

From MichiganVotes.org:2010 House Bill 6180 (Create "uncompleted subdivision" renaissance tax break zones)
Introduced by Rep. Jim Slezak (D) on May 18, 2010,to authorize the extensive tax breaks and exemptions of a “renaissance zone” for up to 10 particular subdivisions started before the subprime/housing crash, that benefited from a local property tax special assessment levied to pay debt service on money borrowed by the local government to build infrastructure for the subdivision, and which now are only 20 percent completed. “Renaissance zone” status means that businesses and individuals within the zone are essentially exempt from all state and local taxes.
See also House Bill 6181, which creates a state revolving loan fund to bail out the local governments that aren't collecting the special assessment revenue they were counting on to pay the debt on the infrastructure projects. The bill is cosponsored by Reps. McDowell, Denby, Rogers, Marleau, Walsh and Daley. … more

There is no perfect method known for measuring a state's economic well being, or forecasting its future prospects. Nevertheless, over time many scholars using different methodologies have presented a relatively consistent picture: Michigan's economic performance and outlook have trended in a negative direction since their first reports. It's not hard to understand why: Lawmakers here continue to stifle growth with counterproductive policies. … more

A new study published by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, called "Economic Freedom and Employment Growth in the U.S. States," concludes that there is a link between economic freedom and employment growth. Other studies have come to the same conclusion. One of the things that makes this one different is its findings on labor markets. The authors write: "In addition, we find that less restrictive state and national government labor market policies have the greatest impact on employment growth in U.S. states."
That conclusion doesn't bode well for Michigan, which is known for having a relatively hostile labor climate and which over the last 10 years has seen its overall national economic freedom ranking tumble. … more

Michigan dropped to 37th nationwide in 2009 for per capita personal income, sliding one spot as income dropped from $34,953 to $34,025. If one includes Washington D.C. in the rankings, Michigan is now 38th. … more

The state housing authority that one developer called the backbone for development and economic activity in Michigan is another victim of the collapse of the housing market.
The Michigan State Housing Development Authority's financial reports show it is in danger of losing money for the first time since the mid-1960s when it was created.
Amid declining revenues and increased delinquent payments on loans it has issued to support development of affordable housing, MSHDA's finances are on shaky grounds, says one expert. … more

Russ Harding, senior environmental policy analyst and director of the Property Rights Network at the Center, will take part in a live chat hosted by The Grand Rapids Press at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, March 23 (see grey box in Press story titled "Michigan 10.0" for details). The talk will be about how Michigan can best use its natural resources to drive economic recovery. … more

In the wake of the news that the Michigan Economic Growth Authority awarded a $9 million tax break/subsidy deal to what appears to be a "shell" company created by a convicted embezzler, Sen. Jason Allen, R-Traverse City, has been assigned the task of managing Senate hearings on the vetting procedures used by MEGA and its parent agency, the Michigan Economic Development Corp. During his 11 years in the Legislature, Allen has become perhaps the most ardent promoter and defender of selective tax breaks and subsidies for particular firms and industries. Since 2001, Allen has introduced at least 60 bills in this category, many of them thinly disguised favors benefiting specific companies. Here are concise descriptions of a selection of these bills, from MichiganVotes.org: … more

The Michigan Economic Growth Authority yesterday approved its latest batch of tax credits to lure large business projects to Michigan.
Despite the press release, these big business projects are just not that consequential to Michigan's total economy. … more

The UAW chief tells us that there are 190,000 new automotive sector jobs about to be created, and we can have them all right here if Republicans and Democrats do…something. What exactly Gettelfinger hopes they will do isn’t spelled out or even hinted at but it probably involves gobs of taxpayer money. … more

The latest Business Employment Dynamics numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that from the third quarter of 2008 through the second quarter of 2009, 778,025 jobs were created in Michigan and 1,144,655 jobs disappeared. Among other things, the figures starkly illustrate just how ineffective the state's economic incentive programs are. … more

Introduced by Rep. Woodrow Stanley (D) on October 29, 2009, to extend "Neighborhood Enterprise Zone" property tax breaks to the University Park Estates subdivision in Flint, which is less than 10 years old, and is in a "renaissance zone" whose tax-exempt status is expiring soon. Under current law, these particular NEZ tax breaks are for subdivisions built before 1968. They cut the owner's local property tax liability on the structure in half.

Michigan is a great state. A Renaissance in public policy is needed most. Businesses are not leaving the state willingly; they are being run out by unenlightened leadership that does not attract as many innovators as we should. … more

We all pay a price when government treats investors, entrepreneurs and households as circus poodles made to jump through hoops in order to collect selective tax-break or subsidy "biscuits" handed out at the whim and discretion of bureaucrats and legislators. … more

Reams of empirical evidence indicate that when it comes to increasing the prosperity and opportunities of the people in a state, nation or society, government "economic development" programs fall far short of what their proponents advertise. Here are three of the reasons this is true. … more

Politicians seeking to remain on the government payroll for the rest of their working lives — including 148 term-limited legislators — are eager to create ever more boards, authorities, agencies, etc., empowered to hand out special favors to particular corporations and industries. If pending legislation passes, we could soon have at least five more local authorities with the power to grant corporate favor-seekers a breathtaking array of tax breaks, abatements, subsidies and other favors. … more

Future historians will find this proposal for a new Michigan law to be revealing about current problems existing in this state, from MichiganVotes.org: 2009 Senate Bill 1015, introduced by Sen. Gerald Van Woerkom, R-Muskegon, on Dec. 10, 2009, to revise the 2003 law that created local "land bank" authorities, so as to include "to promote urban agriculture" among the things they are supposed to accomplish with abandoned, tax reverted property (along with "revitalize the economy, promote economic growth, and foster development"). … more

In a recent Grand Rapids Press column, Lou Glazer argued that there's a correlation between a state getting more college graduates and enjoying higher statewide income levels.
However, Glazer uses only snapshot views of what the per capita personal income or economic output is in a state right now. He ignores trends. But you can't just wear a white suit to become Mark Twain, you have to grow to the role. … more

History, economic theory and empirical research all demonstrate that discriminatory tax breaks and government subsidies don’t work to grow the economy or expand job opportunities. So why has Michigan’s political class greatly expanded the number and generosity of such programs? The special favors may do nothing to expand jobs for the people, but the growing empire of entities with the power to grant them creates hundreds of potential job opportunities for the political careerists who populate Michigan’s term-limited legislature. … more

A pattern of sorts is starting to emerge: When one hears numbers of “jobs created or saved” by various government programs, it appears to be more and more likely that such numbers were pulled by someone out of the vicinity of his or her own back pocket. … more

New Hampshire’s inspiring state motto is a tribute to individualism, but it shines a bit less brightly today after the state offered to guarantee part of a “loan” to an ailing newspaper. That’s a mistake, and if the “Live Free or Die” state has any doubt they should look to the record of the Great Lake state. … more

A new report from the Pew Center on the States, Beyond California (pdf), erroneously suggests that Michigan's economic travails are due to the fall of the auto industry and the presence of what it characterizes as an "out of sync" tax system. … more

Michigan voters should not be fooled by the latest effort of environmental groups, called "Mi Water," that purportedly would regulate mining in the state. The ballot proposal does not regulate mining inasmuch as it effectively bans future mining in Michigan. … more

Michigan Economic Development Corporation CEO Greg Main boasted that he "would invite (critics) to take a look at the results (of the MEGA targeted tax break program)." We did. Twice. In depth and detail. We found that - at best - MEGA creates no new jobs, and on balance it may even destroy them on a net basis. Further, only 29 percent of the direct jobs promised by its deals ever happened. To date, the MEDC has not refuted a single point of fact, or produced independent, systematic evidence that its approach does squat to create jobs, increase state incomes or expand our economy. … more

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